


Stowaway

by aurumdalseni (kyo_chan)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Drabble, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ficlet, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, shance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-09-21 05:11:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9533075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyo_chan/pseuds/aurumdalseni
Summary: Lance has a bad feeling about a solo mission Shiro is sent on, so he sneaks along. It's a good thing he does.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A prompt from my [tumblr](http://aurumdalseni.tumblr.com) \- Shance/Stowaway
> 
> I really like when Lance steps up, and I really appreciate this prompt because it gave me the perfect chance to write it. I hope you enjoy and thank you for reading!

Lance is there when Shiro’s breathing changes. Tucked tightly behind the seat in the black lion’s cockpit, he had begun to think following his gut was stupid. Now that he can hear the strain, he bites his lip and squeezes his eyes shut, hoping he’s still wrong. Black stops moving, suspended in the sky as if her controls are frozen. One of her screens is flashing with little red dots, a warning signal going off over and over. Lance’s nails dig into his palms. 

_ “Shiro, what’s going on out there? You’ve got Galra fighters heading straight for you, why aren’t you moving?” _

It’s Keith’s voice, firm and flat, but Lance can hear the tension there too. He’s trying not to yell, trying not to let the concern leak into his words while he attempts to get Shiro’s attention. Lance dares to shift his position ever so slightly, peering around to catch a glimpse of the viewing panels. One of them has Keith’s face on it, the other shows the positions of the approaching fighters. They’re moving in fast. Lance’s gaze flickers further still, to the crushing grip of Shiro’s hand on the thruster, and he can see the outline of his chest, heaving. He wonders if Keith has visual on Shiro, because Lance isn’t sure he’d be so calm if he does. The sensors get louder, the screen brighter. 

_ “Shiro! Answer me, please.” _ There’s the panic.  _ “Allura, I’m gonna get Red--” _

“No, don’t!” Shiro barks out. Sweat is running down his face from beneath his helmet. The words barrel through clenched teeth. “I’m fine.”

_ “Shiro, you need--” _

“I’m  **fine** !” 

Lance scrambles out from behind the seat, braced to get yelled at, but he can’t sit and listen anymore; he’s too afraid of what will happen. He slams his hand against the comm pad, and Keith’s face flickers off. Startled, Shiro sucks in his breath and stares up at him. His eyes are glassy; whatever lucidity he had to yell at Keith is slipping fast. 

“Lance? What are you--”

“Shhh, babe, it’s okay, just hang on.” 

It’s awkward, Lance has never tried to get into Shiro’s lap for an emergency before. Typically, it’s a much more affectionate gesture than the unceremonious way he ducks under Shiro’s arm and presses himself firmly against his thighs. Lance bites his lower lip as he looks at the death clench Shiro has on Black’s controls. There’s no way he’s going to be able to pry his hands off, so he carefully reaches out holds on just above mismatched fingers.

“Black, I’m sorry, can you work with me for a minute?” Lance’s voice shakes a little in spite of all his efforts to sound worthy. “Shiro needs us, and I know I’m not even close to being a good black paladin, but please.” 

He feels her rumble so deep in his chest, he swears his rib cage rattles. She’s not happy, but then again, neither is he. Shiro has already gone still against him, his breathing ragged now, and Lance hopes he’s just imagining the sound of a whine. He probably isn’t. 

“All right, here we  _ go _ .”

Lance is intensely grateful that Shiro is only facing off against fighters, especially on a mission that was solely supposed to be exploratory. Black allows Lance to pilot her, but her permission doesn’t make any of it easy. Her movements are heavier, require more of his attention and strength. He wonders if the thrusters would have even more resistance without Shiro’s grip on them first. Lance gets his answer the hard way when Shiro makes a strangled noise behind him and lets go to put his hands on his face. Lance feels the strain in his arms when he’s jerked forward. He braces his feet so forcefully against the floor he’s practically standing now, as he alone wrestles control to keep her steady in the air. At the very least, her attack systems are nearly identical to Blue’s, and what he isn’t able to shoot out of the sky, he’s able to summon the jaw blade for. He’s exhausted when everything goes quiet and his arms ache, knees threatening to give out beneath him. His knuckles are white moments before he pries them off the thrusters. He licks his lips and forces himself to focus on the more important thing now. 

“Shiro?” he asks, still breathless from exertion. He tries not to let panic raise his voice. “Shiro?”

Next thing Lance knows, he’s down on the floor of Black’s cockpit, Shiro’s weight on top of him. His eyes widen, and instead of fighting back, he goes perfectly still. 

“Stay away from me!” Shiro snaps, his grip like iron on Lance’s shoulder.

“It’s me, Shiro. It’s Lance. You don’t have to fight me. I don’t want to hurt you.” But God, Shiro could hurt him, Shiro could  _ harm  _ him, Lance can feel it in the pressure, especially on his left shoulder. Shiro is so much bigger and more powerful, and if he doesn’t really  _ see _ Lance… “Shiro. Please.”

A light comes back to Shiro’s dark eyes, and he withdraws in horror, scrambling back so quickly he falls back into the pilot’s seat in a sprawl. “Lance… Lance, I’m sorry. God, I’m so sorry.”

“Shhhh, it’s all right.” Lance sits up, offering him a warm, shaky smile. “You didn’t hurt me, I’m okay. Me an’ Black, we took care of those fighters. Think you can get us back to the castle?”

Black rumbles her acquiescence as Shiro rights himself in the seat and reaches for her controls. 

“Y-yeah...I...thank you, Lance. What are you even doing here anyway? This was supposed to be a solo scouting mission.”

Lance gets to his feet, his entire body tired. “Didn’t feel right. You’ve been off since this morning. Thought I’d make sure you’d be okay.” He can’t help being honest, even though he notices how it makes Shiro’s brow crease, guilt in the line of his shoulders. He won’t lie to Shiro.

“I’m sorry,” Shiro murmurs.

“Don’t be. I’ve always threatened to be a stowaway on one of the fighter ships, ever since the Garrison. Guess I finally got to live up to the threat.” He perches on the arm of Shiro’s chair and puts a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not in trouble, am I?” Lance offers Shiro a mischievous smirk.

Shiro finally smiles. Just a little, but it’s there. “I think we can let this one go.”


	2. No Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Shiro's breakdown in the black lion's cockpit. Lance is not about to let him get away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a really great prompt from my [tumblr](paladinpuppypile.tumblr.com) that inspired me to continue off of this drabble. Hope you enjoy!

Shiro is still in a cold sweat several minutes after stepping out of the cockpit. Lance follows behind, his hand twined with Shiro’s. Lance is actually surprised none of the others, especially Keith, have come to check on him. For the moment, it’s blissfully quiet. Lance is about to suggest they hit the showers and then get a bite to eat when Shiro hastily untangles his hand from Lance’s and walks away. 

“Where are you going?” Lance asks, looking at his empty hand as if he might find something on it that had spooked Shiro away.

“This was a mistake, Lance.”

A boulder dropped in Lance’s stomach. “Wh-what do you mean? I know I shouldn’t have snuck on board, but it worked out in the end.”

“I don’t mean that. I mean, I do, but not because you were in the black lion. More because you felt you _had_  to be. On top of that, I could have hurt you, and I know I scared you.” Shiro is using his ‘strong leader’ voice, but won’t turn to face Lance. He can’t. His hands are in front of him, shaking. “Us being together just makes it more dangerous for you.”

“Okay, wait, hold on a minute. Stop right there, Shiro.” Lance scrambles to get in front of Shiro, not just to see his face, but to make sure he’s between Shiro and the door. “First of all, don’t leave. Secondly,” he moves in a little closer, ever-so-carefully taking Shiro’s hands in his again. His grip is surprisingly firm, and Shiro finally looks at his face when he realizes he can’t pull away so easily. “You’ve been through a lot, Shiro. I can’t even imagine it. I don’t know what you see when this happens, I just know that you’re scared too. And I’m not gonna abandon you when you’re scared. None of us are, really, but especially not me.” 

Lance wishes he could be taller. So that when he wraps his arms around Shiro, he can tuck Shiro’s head under his chin. As it is, he settles for laying his head on his shoulder, his voice so quiet near Shiro’s ear. “I’m with you for the long haul. Fighting Zarkon, fighting your demons, saving the universe. Whatever happens, you’ve got me, okay?”

Shiro can’t answer; his breath tumbles out in a shuddering sigh. “Lance…” is all he can manage.

“I know, you love me. It’s fine,” he teases gently. “Now c’mon. The others are probably about to crash in here and make a big fuss. Let’s see if we can get away, all right?”

Shiro nods, brushes a soft kiss against Lance’s temple. It’s as close to a thank you as he can be right now. He still doesn’t trust his voice, trust himself. 

But he does trust Lance. And that will have to be enough.


End file.
